Insufficient pre-treatment or improper storage can lead to poisoning with conditionally edible mushrooms. So, in case of poisoning with morels and lines, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain appear 5-10 hours after eating mushrooms. In severe cases, the liver, kidneys are affected; convulsions, disturbances of consciousness may develop; death is possible.
The clinical picture of poisoning with poisonous mushrooms is due to the type of fungal toxin, but always includes severe damage to the gastrointestinal tract. The loss of a large amount of fluid with vomit and feces leads to severe dehydration, loss of electrolytes (potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium ions) and chlorides. Water and electrolyte disturbances may be accompanied by hypovolemic shock (see Exotoxic shock), lead to the development of acute cardiovascular, hepatic and renal failure.
The most severe poisoning (especially in children) is caused by pale grebe: for the development of severe poisoning with a fatal outcome, it is enough to eat a small part of the fungus. The first symptoms of poisoning may appear 10-24 hours after eating the fungus and are manifested by sudden sharp pains in the abdomen, vomiting, and diarrhea.
The stools are thin, watery, reminiscent of rice water, sometimes with an admixture of blood. Cyanosis, tachycardia occur, blood pressure decreases. On the 2-4th day, jaundice appears, hepatic-renal failure develops, often accompanied by fibrillar muscle twitching, oliguria or anuria. Death can occur due to acute cardiovascular or hepatic-renal failure.
Signs of fly agaric poisoning appear after 1-11/2; h and are characterized by pain in the abdomen, indomitable vomiting, diarrhea. There are increased salivation, severe sweating, miosis, bradycardia; excitation, delirium, hallucinations develop (see Poisoning, acute intoxication psychoses (Infectious psychoses)), convulsions (muscarinic intoxication).
The effectiveness of therapy is determined mainly not by the initial severity of the patient’s condition, but by how quickly treatment is started. With a detailed clinical picture of poisoning, especially in the case of toxic damage to the liver and kidneys, even the most modern methods of treatment used on the 3rd-5th day and later are often ineffective. This is largely due to the specific effect of fungal toxin on the structure of cells.
At the first signs of mushroom poisoning (as well as if poisoning is suspected), emergency hospitalization is necessary, preferably in a hospital where active detoxification measures are possible. At the pre-hospital stage, first aid consists in immediate gastric lavage (gastric lavage) and bowel cleansing (wash water containing undigested fungal residues must be delivered to the hospital).
The stomach is washed through a tube with a solution of sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water) or a weak (pink) solution of potassium permanganate. Inside injected suspension of activated charcoal (50-80 g per 100-150 ml of water) or enterodez (1 teaspoon of powder 3-4 times a day). Laxatives are used (25-50 g of magnesium sulfate dissolved in 1/2-1 glass of water, or 20-30 g of sodium sulfate dissolved in 1/4-1/2 glass of water, 50 ml of castor oil), make cleansing enemas . After washing the stomach and cleansing the intestines, to compensate for the loss of fluid and salts, the victims are given salted water (2 teaspoons of table salt per 1 glass of water), which should be drunk chilled, in small sips.
“Azbuka Voda” is a drinking water delivery service in Volgograd.